Marine Le Pen has been banned from running for public office for five years after being found guilty of embezzling European Union funds by a Parisian court.
The National Rally leader, along with eight other MEPs, was issued a guilty verdict after the politicians used the funds to pay off their party staff.
The five-year ban means Le Pen will not be able to stand for president in the 2027 elections.
As part of the verdict, Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison suspended for two years.
Le Pen stormed out of the courtroom before the full verdict was read out.
During the trial, the prosecution pressed for Le Pen to be banned from public office for five years if she was found guilty.
The National Rally leader - along with eight other MEPs - were found guilty of using funds to pay off their party staff this morning
REUTERS
The prosecuting team had also urged the leader to be slapped with a five-year-long jail sentence.
In the past, Le Pen has thrice come out as a frontrunner in the nation's previous presidential elections against Emmanuel Macron.
She has recently announced that 2027 would mark her final bid for the presidency.
The ban is due to spark significant upheaval in French politics, and has led Le Pen to accuse lawyers of seeking her "political death".
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The ruling today followed France's constitutional court declaring that local politicians can be banned from public office "with immediate effect" if they were found guilty of a crime.
In total, Le Pen was found guilty of misappropriating €474,000, which includes contracts for bodyguard Thierry Légier as well as former staffer Catherine Griset.
"Catherine Griset worked for Marine Le Pen, but not as a member of parliament in Brussels," the judge told the Paris criminal court earlier today.
Le Pen's opponents have resisted imposing a ban on the party leader, including MP for radical Left party France Unbowed Éric Coquerel.
Le Pen has accused lawyers of seeking her "political death"
REUTERS
Speaking to LCI, he declared that he did not believe that "things that should be decided by the ballot box are decided by the courts".
"It will only paint the National Rally as a victim," he warned.
Additionally, a total of 12 assistants who were on trial alongside the politicians were all found guilty of concealing misappropriated funds.
The court declared that all 12 had forced "the European Parliament to pay for people who were actually working for the party", amounting to around €2.9million.
